Toy vehicle



March 1937. .1. MANOIL 2,072,374

I To! VEHICLE Filed Feb. 8, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /7 f as 2 I 4 24 L /a.34 3/, A? r l 1 35 B I 7 A92] I lNVENTOR JACK Mq/vo/L.

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ATTORNEY March 2, 1937. J. MANOIL 2,072,374

TOY VEHICLE Filed. Feb. 8, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Illiii!!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillI..;:"lllll|||IIllIIII|||llimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllllllllll I Q 1U INVENTORJae/r dlA/vo/L.

ATTORNEY lllllllIIlllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE E1;

Patented Mar. 2, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOY. VEHICLE JackManoil, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application February 8, 1935, Serial No. 5,513

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to toy vehicles and is more particularlydirected toward toy automobiles which may be made out of cast metalpreferably by a die'casting process. These toys consist principally oftwo castings, one a chassis forming casting and and the other a bodysimulating casting. Axles andwheels complete the assembly of the toyvehicle.

The present invention contemplates toy vehicles M) of this class whereinthe chassis part and body forming part may be detachably securedtogether :and held against separation or relative movement .by meansentirely independent of the axles. The preferred form of detachablecoupling means for securing these parts together includes catch membersintegral with the side walls of the body forming member and arranged topass through the chassis forming member and hook against it so that thetwo parts will not separate. When the body forming part of the toy is inthe form of die casting, the resiliency of the thin side walls (whichmay be constructed by die cast-methods) makes it possible to permitpressing in these side walls sufficiently to accomplish theinter-engagement of thecatch members and chassis.

By employing the quick detachable catch arrangement above referred to,it is possible to design the toy so that the wheels and axles may becompletely carried by either the chassis part or by the body part, andthe other part need not bear on the axles as has been customary incertain toys.

The present invention also contemplates a construction of toyautomobiles wherein the wheels and axles are carried by the chassisportion so that the body portion maybe completely disconnected from thechassis portion whereupon the chassis portion becomes exposed to view.This chassis portion may constitute a complete toy 4O vehicle. It ispreferably provided with elements which simulate the power plant andaccessories usually found on the chassis of a regular automobile, i. e.the engine, clutch, propeller shaft, transmission, differential, andfuel tank may be 45 simulated in'the cast piece forming the chassis.

The present invention also contemplates the design ofthe chassis andbodyparts so that the body parts fit closely between the fender simulatingelements of the chassis whereby the toy is reinforced mechanically andthe lines of the chassis and body parts merge to provide an improvedappearance in the completed toy.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a chassis parthaving a design which pro- 55 vides notches or bearings to receivetheaxle shafts so that these axle shafts may be secured in place bymerely passing the same lengthways through the'notches and securing thewheels on the axles.

Inasmuch as the toy has the wheels and axles carried by the chassis, itmay be provided with the accessories to more completely simulate thechassis of a full sized automobile. It is possible to readily decoratethese enclosed chassis parts so that they will contrast with thedecoration on the finished or completed toy automobile. The chassis maybe sprayed one color, then the body placed on top of the chassis andanother color of paint sprayed on so that the completed toy car is ofuniform color throughout when the body is removed. The hidden parts ofthe chassis have the original color.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent as thedescription proceeds.

The accompanying drawings show, for purposes of illustrating the presentinvention, two of the many embodiments inwhich the invention may takeform, it being understood that the drawings are illustrative of theinvention rather than limiting the same.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a chassis forming casting;

Figure 2 is an inverted plan view of the chassis casting of Figure 1;Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure1, parts of the body being shown;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure3;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure3;

Figures 6, 6a, and 6b are diagrammatic top plan views showing the stepsof decorating the chassis and body part; v V Figure 7 is an invertedplan View of a modified toy automobile;

Figure 8 is a section taken on the line 88 of Figure 7; and r I Figures9 and 10 are sections taken on the line 9-9 and Ill-Ill of Figure 8.

The chassis casting I0 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is designed to simulatea regular automobile with the body removed to display the chassis andpower plant. tions I l and I la, and rear fender simulating portions I2and I2'a. The fender simulating portions are integral parts of thechassis forming casting and are connected together by running boardsimulating portions l3 and I3a. These g5 It has front fender simulatingporv running board simulating portions are substantially in the plane ofthe body of the casting. The ends of the casting are formed into bumpersl4 and Ma, these bumpers being preferably connected to the adjacent endsof the fender simulating portions so as to support the same. Thiscasting is designed to be made in a two part die, 1. e. one having twoparts which separate to release the casting. All surfaces appearing inFigure 1 are drafted upwardly and are formed by one cavity of the die.All surfaces appearing in Figure 2 of the drawings are drafteddownwardly and are formed by the other part of the die. By so designingthe dies the construction of the toys is simplified and their output isincreased;

The dies are preferably designed. to. form an upwardly extending enginesimulating element I5, a clutch simulating element l6, transmissionsimulating element [1, propeller shaft l8, and differential l9, and fueltank 20. To save weight the engine forming element and the fuel tankforming element are preferably made hollow from underneath.

In order to support the axles the casting is provided with anarrangement of upwardly opening notches formed by the upper half of thedie and alined downwardly opening notches formed by the other part ofthe die. The upwardly opening notches are indicated at 2| adjacent theinner sides of the opposite fender simulating portions. The downwardlyopening notches are indicated at 22 and 23 respectively, being cut outsin the engine and differential. The axles which may be formed out ofnails are indicated at 24 and. 25 and the wheels at 26. These wheels areheld in place by heads 21 on the nails and the opposite ends 28.

To facilitate securing the body member to the chassis member, thechassis member is apertured as indicated at 29 and 29a.

The body member is indicated at 30. It is formed to simulate the body ofan automobile and while only one form of body is indicated in thedrawings, it will be understood that various forms of automotive vehiclebodies may be employed with a single design of chassis. The body castingis cored underneath as indicated at 3| and has a longitudinal partingline along the center. It is made in a three part die. The casting ismade from thin metal so that its side walls are somewhat resilient. Theyare provided with downwardly extending catches 32 and 33 adapted to bepassed through the apertures 29 and 29a in the chassis casting I0. Owingto the resiliency of the metal of the body portion, the two castings maybe easily secured together by slightly squeezing the body casting andpushing the catch members down through the apertures. On release of thepressure the parts spring outwardly to the positions indicated in'Figure 4 and the castings are then secured to gether. 7 They can,however, be readily separated. The rear portions 34 of the side walls ofthe body portion are preferably flanged outwardly as indicated at 35 tofit the adjacent side walls 36 of the rear fendersimulatingelements.Thisaffords a tight fit and. a neat merging of the lines of the rearfender and the adjacent part of the body. The front portions of the sidewalls of the body member are similarly outwardly flanged so as to fitand merge into the front fender portions at considerable elevation abovethe front axle as indicated at 31 in Figures 3 and 4.

. It will be noted that the fender simulating portions are cut backabove the axles as would be clear from Figure 3 so that the weight ofthe toy is reduced. The designing of the toys so as to have the linesbetween the body and fender merge at high elevations makes it possibleto reduce the amount of metal required in the body portion and at thesame time keep the body portion out of contact with the axles so that noundue friction is brought about.

While it is possible to rely entirely upon the fitting of the catches 32and 33 in the apertures 29 and 29a as a means for preventing relativelongitudinal movement of the two castings, it is preferable to extendthe front and rear ends of the body casting down behind the bumperforming portions as indicated at 38 and 39 and to have these downwardlyextending portions fit closely against the chassis casting.

The castings constructed as indicated in Figures 1 to inclusive may bedecorated by suitable spray color to make the vehicle more attractive.If desired one can assemble the two castings to form the completed bodyand chassis (without wheels) and spray the entire assemblage at once soas to have a uniform color. This will leave the inner parts of thechassis casting in the uncolored state so that the raw metal is visible.

Inasmuch as the chassis with wheels and axles attached may constitute acomplete toy without the body member, it is preferable to employ adifferent decorating process. The chassis casting (without wheels oraxles) is sprayed a suitable color so as to cover the upper entiresurface as indicated by the vertical lines appearing in Figure 6. Thebody is then placed on top of the chassis and a second color sprayed onto the completed car so that the entire car is of one color as indicatedby the horizontal lines of Figure 6b.

Whenever any one removes the body from the chassis casting, it revealsthe inner part ofv the chassis casting which now bears the originalcolor as shown by the vertical lines of Figure 6b".

In the form shown in Figures 7 to inclusive, the chassis casting isindicated at 4|] and the body casting at 4|; The chassis casting has arectangular opening 42 with opposite side edges 43 and 44 adapted toreceive catch members 45 and 46 which extend-downwardly from the sidewalls of the body member 4| to engage the side edges of the opening 42and secure the two castings together.

Thebody member has downwardly extending apertured lugs 48 which extenddown through the chassis casting to support axles supported at 49. Theaxles carry wheels 50 which are housed within the fender simulatingportions 5| of the body casting. The inner side walls'of these fendersimulating portions are cut back as indicated at 52 so that the axles 49are not in contact with the chassis.

In order that the body and chassis parts may not move longitudinally,some means is provided to check the parts. A suitable means is hereshown in the form of a cross member 52carried at the rear of the chassisand a bumper 53 carried at the front end of the chassis. The front andrear portions of the body member engage with these parts as is clearfrom Figures 7 and 8.

With this form of construction the body member cannot be removed fromthe chassis after it has been placed in position on the chassis and theaxles and wheels attached. This construction is, therefore, more adaptedfor use with toys of the nature in which the chassis is not carried onthe wheels.

What is claimed is:

7 members to detachably secure the chassis and 1. In a toy automobile, acast chassis having a frame simulating portion, fender simulatingportions arranged in pairs at the front and rear of the chassis andconnected at the front and rear ends thereof to the frame simulatingportion, the width of the frame simulating portion between the pairs offender simulating portions being narrower than the space separating theinner walls of the opposite fender simulating portions, the framesimulating portion having upwardly opening notches adjacent each pair offender simulating portions and centrally disposed elements each providedwith a downwardly opening notch aligned with the adjacent upwardlyopening notches, front and rear axles carried in the notches, and wheelson the axles and disposed in the fender simulating portions.

2. A toy automobile as claimed in claim '1, wherein the front elementsimulates an engine and the rear element simulates a differential.

3. A toy automobile having a chassis and a die cast body having thinresilient side walls provided with downwardly projecting catch members,the chassis having co-operative catch receiving elements adapted toreceive the catch body together, the body having apertured lugsprojecting below the chassis, axles carried in the lugs and wheels onthe axles, the chassis being cut away above the axles toprevent contactof the chassis with the axles.

4. A toy automobile comprising a cast body and a cast chassis formed tosimulate the corresponding part of a vehicle and to interfit to preventlongitudinal and lateral movement, the body having apertured lugsprojecting below the chassis, axles carried in said lugs, wheels on theaxles, the chassis being cut away above the axles to prevent contact ofthe chassis with the axles, and catches integral with the body andengageable with the chassis for securing the chassis and body together.

5. In a toy automobile, a cast chassis having a substantially flatplatform from which rises a pair of front, downwardly opening fendersimulating portions disposed opposite one another, and an enginesimulating portion disposed between the said fender simulating portions,there being an upwardly drafted axle receiving notch between each fendersimulating portion and the engine simulating portion and a downwardlydrafted axle receiving notch below the engine simulating portion, anaxle carried in the notch, and supporting wheels on the axle anddisposed within the fender simulating portions.

6. In a toy automobile, a cast chassis having a substantially fiatplatform from which rises a pair of rear downwardly opening fendersimulating portions disposed opposite one another and a differentialsimulating portion disposed between the said fender simulating portions,there being an upwardly drafted axle receiving notch between each fendersimulating portion and the differential simulating portion and adownwardly drafted axle receiving notch below the differentialsimulating portion, an axle carried in the notch, and supporting wheelson the axle and disposed within'the fender simulating portions.

7. In a toy automobile, a cast chassis having a substantially flatplatform from which rises 7

